Krystal n chips

Right, a major rant here. If the mods wish to pull this thread that is fair enough and I respect this decision without any problem. However, I can think of nowhere else to print this.

Early Feb and my father (85) is injured in the drive at home by an individual who is collecting his car for scrap. He spends two months in hospital, suffers depression, and will never be as mobile again as a direct result of the accident--broken femur collar in four places.

So, I contact the HSE given this was a reportable accident and that given the subsequent events, the people concerned are unlikely to have done so. Speak to the HSE today, and am informed that no action will even be instigated against said company as the case could "go on and on"--well that's nice to hear then. It strikes me the HSE are very good as paper tigers, and very good at posturing for major accidents, but when it comes to minor, very minor in comparison to major accidents I accept, then the approach is "not interested--why should we be" despite all the H & S legislation in place. Reason I contacted the HSE today--for an update--was due to the conversation I had with the Solicitor handling the claim. It seems those involved were not only abusive, but also stated they would not respond to any letters etc and that basically we could get lost as there was nothing we could do anyway. Now the solicitor more or less stated that if they do not respond to the letters, then this is pretty much the case and that the "no Win No fee" arrangement is no longer valid and we would have to start paying to continue matters. ---Now to my untrained legal mind, if somebody is so unwilling to even respond and is so obdurate, then clearly they must have something to hide.

It would seem however, that as the HSE--simply for the reason I mentioned above--are unwilling to pursue a relatively small case, and those involved in the incident are clearly refusing to co-operate, then as far as the legal process of the UK is concerned, this is perfectly acceptable.

The law is truly an ass if this is correct !.
Sorry, but I find the sight of my father reduced to sitting in a chair all day--when he was once mobile and active, a little hard to take and even more so when it appears those who induced the accident can remain non accountable for their actions. I don't want sympathy here, just some clarification as to why, when there is so much legislation in place, nothing can be done. Rant over. Thank you.

Unwell_Raptor

Sorry, but you are angry with the wrong outfit. The HSE is there to enforce Health and Safety, not to pursue individual cases. If what you say is true, a competent firm of solicitors will be able to resolve the issue with the minimum stress to your family. If they are not doing it to your satisfaction change them, but - a word of caution - strip out the emotion first. The only thing that emotion brings to a court case is a bigger bill.

Unless I am very much mistaken (and I am not a lawyer) this is a civil case, and needs to be settled by the civil procedures.

cyclicmicky

If the solicitor in question has posted as a no win no fee company, then how can they ask for a fee without the win??
Or do they think that they are not going to get the win, and therefore, their advertising is fraudulent.
By this I mean they are incompetent in their own advertising, and therefore liable to a visit from the trading standards authority for false representation.
The Law Society looks quite dimly on these ambulance chasers I am led to believe.
Good Luck whichever way it goes!!
Micky

Krystal n chips

Thank you for the replies. I was actually advised by a former HSE person to contact the organisation, given that he felt it was reasonable to assume they would not have filed a serious accident report under RIDDOR and within the required three days. Hence my criticism of the organisation or rather the negative response.

I appreciate the advice about emotion and so far, have kept it firmly under control. So far that is and will continue to try and do so for obvious reasons.

As for the solicitor, well I was concerned when informed that she had never encountered anything like this before--ie the abuse and refusal to co-operate--so I will have to wait, I suppose, until the end of the letter sending phase and the request for money at this point ( as it was put to me yesterday ) to continue.
Interestingly enough, apparently one of the criteria for taking a case on is an above 51% chance of winning--and in this case the balance was deemed to be higher.

What I still can't grasp however, is why a negative response from the organisation involved, means that there is little or nothing that can be done to hold them accountable. Clearly, if the current solicitor does not have the capability to pursue matters, then I will have to look elsewhere. One thing that did make me "laugh" however, was when I was told a medical check was required--for a fee of course--which, after 2 months in hospital seems a bit superfluous really.

Once again, thanks for the advice.